The Diversity Council organized a panel of speakers to discuss the intersection of faith and social justice challenges from a historical and contemporary perspective.

In honor of black history month, the event was held on February 17, 2010, at the West Los Angeles Graduate Campus.

The panel included GSEP distinguished alumnus, Dr. Lou Jenkins and former faculty member Dr. Erylene Piper Mandy, current president and CEO of the Center for Cross Cultural Competence, a consultant agency through which she and her colleagues train public and private agencies in a variety of issues related to ethnic diversity and community relations. Dr. Spring Cooke, visiting professor in the Education Division at GSEP, served as moderator.

Erylene Piper Mandy, PhD. Dr. Erylene Piper Mandy, formerly an adjunct professor at GSEP, is the president and CEO of the Center for Cross Cultural Competence, a consultancy that trains public and private agencies on issues related to ethnic diversity and community relations. Her work as a psychological anthropologist has allowed her a unique perspective to comment on both the theories and practices of mental health professionals, and she enjoys challenging students to explore the limits of psychology and education for effecting large-scale change amongst marginalized populations. Piper Mandy received a B.A. in African American Studies and a B.S. in Psychology from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She earned a master’s in Boston University’s African American Studies Program, and a master’s and Ph.D. in psycho-cultural anthropology from the University of California, Irvine. A recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Fellowship, Piper Mandy was afforded the opportunity to work and study in Senegal, West Africa. She is a highly sought after public speaker, and participates in up to one hundred and fifty engagements per year.

Louis Jenkins, PhD. Dr. Jenkins is a professor of psychology at the School of Science and Technology at Loma Linda University. He received his Ph.D., in 1973, from Pennsylvania State University. Jenkins attended George Pepperdine College, on Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, and received his master’s in psychology in 1970. He returned to Pepperdine University in 1987 as a psychology faculty member, and taught through the 1996 academic year. He has been a tireless voice for change and justice within the field of psychology, having served on the Board of Psychology for the State of California and creating many culturally competent initiatives to improve how services were both conceptualized and delivered to African Americans and other minority populations. Jenkins’ research interests include diversity issues and psychology and religion.